Estrada denies all allegations against him

Estrada denies all allegations against him

MANILA (AP): President Joseph Estrada denied all accusations against him in a brief response Friday to the impeachment complaint under which he will be tried by the Senate starting next week on corruption and other charges.

Estrada is accused in the 270-page articles of impeachment of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of the public trust and violation of the constitution. Most of the charges are based on accusations by a provincial governor that he received millions of dollars from operators of an illegal numbers game and from excise taxes intended for tobacco farmers.

In his 16-page response, Estrada's lawyers argued that the charges do not constitute impeachable offenses and insisted he had been "faithful to his oath of office."

"They are denying everything," said Senate legal counsel David Yap. "They are denying the fact that this complaint meets the requirements of a complaint."

Eleven members of the House of Representatives who will act as prosecutors in the Senate trial, which begins next Thursday, now have five days to reply to Estrada's response.

Estrada will be removed only if at least two-thirds of the 22 senators vote to convict him. Currently he is believed to have a narrow margin of support for remaining in office.

Rep. Roan Libarios, one of the 11 prosecutors, said Estrada's brief and general response to the charges was expected.

"We even thought they will not file an answer so that they will not be pinned down on their specific line of defense," he said.

The prosecutors asked the Senate on Friday to allow an inspection of several expensive mansions which Estrada is accused of having acquired while in office for the use of his mistresses.

They also requested subpoenas for several witnesses, including Estrada's son, bank officials, and a woman who allegedly kept records of the gambling payoffs.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel has said he believes the trial can be finished by the end of December, but other senators think it may take until at least January.

Many business and labor groups are demanding that Estrada step down to avoid a lengthy legal process that could further damage the country's economy by hurting business confidence.

Tens of thousands of people protested Thursday in cities throughout the Philippines urging Estrada to resign, and threatened civil disobedience if he refuses.

Estrada replied that he would await the outcome of the impeachment trial.

But in his response on Friday, he argued that the impeachment complaint should be thrown out because much of the evidence consisted of newspaper clippings.

"Many of the specifications are in newspaper articles which cannot take the place of allegations of ultimate facts," the response said.

On Tuesday, the Senate rejected a motion from Estrada's lawyers that the case be rejected on technical grounds because the House of Representatives never voted before forwarding the impeachment complaint to the Senate for a trial.

Estrada has acknowledged that he was offered a bribe by the governor, Luis Singson, but said he refused it. The money, however, was later given to an Estrada aide and deposited in the bank account of a foundation for scholarships for Muslim youth.

Estrada's brother-in-law heads the foundation, which has never awarded any scholarships.